John Ehrhardt approved for part-time job on 3-1 vote by County Board

Tuesday

Jan 14, 2014 at 8:34 PM

Gary L. Smith of the Journal Star

HENNEPIN — A veterinarian from McNabb has been named the new Putnam County Emergency Management Agency coordinator.

John Ehrhardt was chosen on a 3-1 vote Monday by the County Board to succeed Jim Goldasich, who died in November after serving in the part-time position for nearly nine years. The work done by Goldasich, who was Ehrhardt’s uncle, inspired Ehrhardt to become involved in EMA activities, he said after the meeting.

“It seemed like kind of a natural fit,” Ehrhardt said.

For nearly 30 years, Ehrhardt operated a McNabb clinic that previously had been run by his father. He also had been the county’s animal control officer. In that capacity, he had been a key witness in a high-profile 2002 court case in which a captive tiger attacked a young girl at a site south of Hennepin.

Ehrhardt sold his practice to veterinarian Allison Spayer in 2010, and she became animal control officer. He has worked as a consulting veterinarian since then, and he also is a longtime member of the County Board of Health.

“This is a further extension of things that I’ve been doing,” Ehrhardt said.

There were two other applicants for the position, Quentin Buffington and Keenan Campbell, and each of them also “had qualities that would be good for the county,” said board Chairman Duane Calbow. Board member Willie Holmes, who had moved to appoint Buffington, voted against Ehrhardt’s appointment, but Calbow urged everyone to work together in the future.

“The EMA is bigger than any one person, and I think everyone here knows it takes a team effort,” Calbow said.

Ehrhardt echoed that theme in a statement read after his appointment. He said he would emphasize recruiting new volunteers and educating the public about emergency situations.

“Being a small county, we must pull together when emergencies happen, and the best way to do that is to plan ahead, together,” he said. “Combining the resources of the county, townships and villages together, especially the human resources, gives us the best chance to effectively respond.”

Gary L. Smith can be reached at (800) 516-0389 or glsmith@mtco.com. Read his Northern Circuit blog at pjstar.com. Follow him onTwitter @Glsmithx.